Grayson County and Galax, along with Fort Chiswell, each claimed a share of the Mountain Empire District football championship. The Blue Devils and the Maroon Tide accepted their share of the postseason accolades, as well.

The two teams combined to fill 11 first-team and 17 second-team slots on the all-Mountain Empire District football team, as voted on by the district’s coaches.

Led by first-year head coach Mark Dixon, the Galax staff was also voted tops in the district after leading a Maroon Tide turnaround from back-to-back 3-7 seasons to a 9-3, region runner-up showing this fall. The win total was the Tide’s best since winning nine games in 2001.

One of the more electric offenses in the region, Galax grabbed five first-team spots on that side of the ball, including Jerad Brown, who was also a first-team pick on defense.

A first-team wideout, Brown had eight catches for 211 yards and three touchdowns in the postseason alone and was a dangerous off-side target from fellow first-team receiver Deion George, finishing the year with 13 total touchdowns.

Defensively, Brown was a solid coverage back and had a huge goal-line interception in the Maroon Tide’s Region C Division 1 semifinal win at Bath County.

Terrance Mazon was voted the league’s top quarterback after completing 100-of-203 passes for 1,712 yards and 20 touchdowns against just eight interceptions in 13 games.

Mazon’s top receiver was George, a 6-2 junior who hauled in 45 passes for 953 yards and 12 touchdowns. George had at least two receptions in each of Galax’s 13 games and had three 100-yard outings, including a six-catch, 171-yard effort against Alleghany.

Jordan Vaughan saw his year shortened by four games due to a midseason foot injury but still averaged more than 100 yards per outing when healthy. A junior runningback, Vaughan carried 152 times for 912 yards in nine games, scoring 12 touchdowns.

Frankie Shalabi garnered the only offensive line spot not taken by the behemoths of Fort Chiswell and Bland County, being named a first-team tight end. Shalabi was a sure-handed short-yardage receiver and delivered some key blocks for the four different Tide ballcarriers that had at least one 100-yard game each.

Grayson County’s top two yardage producers, Xavier Rodriguez and Eric Harvey, and kicker Mario Ruiz were named to the first team.

Rodriguez led the Twin Counties with 1,096 yards on 158 carries, scoring 18 touchdowns along the way. His 217 yards and three scores were instrumental in the Blue Devils’ upset win over Fort Chiswell, which propelled Grayson into the playoffs with a 6-4 record.

The sure-handed Harvey finished his senior season with 38 catches for 776 yards and five scores, an average of 20.4 yards per reception.

A junior linebacker, Fisher was in on 69 tackles, one sack and one fumble recovery.

Fort Chiswell took home the top individual honors, as Johnse Hatfield (1,488 yards, 20 touchdowns) was the offensive player of the year and linebacker Josh Cain (101 tackles) was the defensive player of the year.

The second teams are full of Twin County players, eight on offense and nine on defense.